A lot of the extreme couponers on TV spend 60 hours a week clipping coupons and finding deals. Lately I haven't been clipping coupons at all because I don't have time and I felt like I shouldn't do it at all if I don't have time to do it properly. I'm trying to get over my all or nothing attitude and at least spend 30 minutes a week cutting coupons because even if you only use a couple of coupons and save $2, you are still better off than if you didn't use them at all. So how much time do you devote to clipping and printing out coupons?
I have never timed myself but I can't imagine that I spend more than a couple hours per week. I have money-saving blogs that I follow and occasionally print from or sign up for deals. I love to follow these blogs but they usually give a heads up about what coupons will be in the Sunday paper. There was a couple weeks recently when there were no coupons period so that saved me from buying the paper. Also, I print my coupons from Swagbucks about once or twice a month. They offer plenty of high value coupons on many of the brands I use. The best part is that I get 10 Swagbucks for every coupon redeemed so it really is worth the little bit of time I have to take to print them. I couldn't imagine spending the same amount of hours as a full time job just to clip coupons!
The best time for me to cut coupons are: when I am watching TV or when a commercial come on. If I have more than one coupons but the same coupons I cut them together. I notice it much easy using a cutting broad. Using a cutting broad save lot of time & it better on my hands. I also cut when I am talking on the phone. The best way is not to be stress, start small then keep adding your coupons to your coupon booklet or pocket. Some time I will cut the coupons in the car while someone else is driving. I can't never find a quiet time to cut, so I just do it when I can.
I spend maybe ten minutes gathering online coupons each week and printing them out. If I can save $5 to $10, then I figure I've done well with my limited time. I don't absolutely need to save on everything that I buy, but it's hard to pass up an offer that makes two packs of razor blades $2 when you'd pay $3 for just one package without the coupon, for instance. It's all about how much time you put in and how much more savings you get from clipping the coupons. It's not worth it for everyone, especially those who need more value for their time. For most of us, though, a few minutes here and there is more than worth it.
I haven't been doing it much lately either. I put my coupons in with my reading. And I used to do my reading between pages online (when I had a really slow computer). Now I need to schedule more reading-time---probably right before sleep-time.
I only spend a few hours a week clipping coupons. Sometimes I will just go to Aldi since they already have really low prices. It seems like I get get things for a lot less at Aldi even when I end up using coupons at other grocery stores. If there is a specific beauty product like a hair color kit or something I will try to seek those out.
I think that 30 minutes a week is perfectly reasonable. I don't think I have ever spent more than an hour a week and that's including the time I used to look for coupons online, too. 60 hours a week could be spent working at a job that would make me way more money than I save by using the coupons in the first place.
I probably spend 30 minutes a week clipping coupons and trying to make a list based off of sales. I can generally save at least $10 a week putting this time in so to me it's worth it. I definitely luck out because there are sites that post every Sunday the best coupon match ups so I really use these to my advantage. Not only do I get great deals but I can also dedicate more time to working online and make even more money.
I don't do it at all. I know, it's terrible and I can probably save myself a lot of money, but I always have this fear that if I get the coupon from say a newspaper or something and I try to use it at the store it wouldn't work. I honestly never know whether the coupon works or not or where is the right place I can use it. Maybe I'll get over it some day, but as of right now that's the biggest reason why I have yet to use coupons Suggestions?
If you see a coupon that interests you, clip it & carry it around with your money. Then it'll be right there when you're shopping. If you or the places you're shopping look at coupon-usage as "low-class," you can mutter something like (Founding Father) Benjamin Franklyn's "a penny saved is a penny earned" or something about the tough economy etc.
Man I use to be love coupons, I'd cut through the Wednesday and the Sunday coupons and have a stack ready each week for my groceries. I would save $50 or more at a time. I wish I could be one of those people who have so many coupons that the store would pay me! You just have to check the date and see the stipulations, but I've never had a coupon fail me. I walk away proud that I just saved money for later!
A few brands limit the number of their products you can buy per day (Log In is the only brand I've seen do that, but it makes sense), so I kinda 'pay that forward' and make sure I'm losing at least a little money to the store. I don't make the kinda money I'd need to buy things other than 'what I usually get' (which there aren't usually coupons for---save the occasional cup-of-soup deal etc.) and don't buy a lot since I'm single & living alone & totally fine with that (usually ). But I DO shop atLog In---affordable Awesome.
If a place sees coupon usage as low class, that's their problem, not yours. I don't think even rich people should waste money. If I was rich, I would still use coupons and give the money I saved to charity. I don't understand why anyone would pass up using coupons when it's free money. A coupon might not look like money at first, but when you see your total go down at the cash register, you realize that you are saving actual money that you can use for other things. It's insane not to use coupons.
I spend maybe 10 mintues if that a week clipping coupons. Why? I do everything online these days. So, for groceries, I use the store app (Safeway) and clip the coupons available online. It's much easier and quicker than going through the paper. Also, I have found that they are the same ones offered by manufacturers.
I don't spend too much time on cliping coupons. I like coupons and they are the best way to save money. I always compare and find the best coupons on things, I never count how much time I am spending on it.
I don't spend alot of money on items other than the things I need around the house, if I see a coupon for toilet paper or laundry soap I will hold onto those so that I have them when I go shopping which is not often. I only look at the local flyer when it comes in for coupons which is about 10 minutes a week spent looking for and cutting coupons.
I don't spend a lot of time anymore clipping coupons. I used to be one of "those people" and I bought 4 papers a week and had a 3 ring binder full of those thingies you use to file trading cards and I put the coupons in there, and yes I was one of those people who bought a whole cartfull of stuff for $3. The only reason I was able to do that is because we had Albertsons and they had weekends where they tripled coupons up to $2 and quad up to $1 it was insane. I was getting up hours before work and waiting at the door when they opened. Now I only get one paper (or order whole inserts online) and file the WHOLE INSERT in a file folder with the date on it. So when I go to my coupon matchup sites it will give the date of the coupon and the source (Smart Source, P&G or Redplum) and I can quickly get the ones I want and clip them at that time instead of clipping in advance and then maybe not using. It's far more efficient and less time consuming.
I used to spend a lot of time clipping coupons, but like you, I just don't have the time! I have 4 kiddos that keep me very busy to say the least. I still coupon but have narrowed it down to one store that I basically do all my grocery shopping at. That saves time in itself with not having to have to run all over town to get deals. With that said, I usually spend about 45 minutes a week clipping and getting my list together for the week. I do keep an eye on drug store ads especially if there are coupons out there with great savings. The extreme couponers are crazy and unrealistic actually. Who could ever possibly eat 50 boxes of pasta anyway! Even a little time spent will save you big.